Cordless products or devices which use rechargeable batteries are prevalent in the marketplace. Rechargeable batteries may be used in numerous devices ranging from computers to power tools. Since the devices use a plurality of battery cells, the battery cells are commonly packaged in a battery pack. The battery pack may in turn be used to power the devices when coupled thereto. Once depleted, the battery pack may be recharged.
In a typical charging scheme, a constant current is delivered to the battery cells until each cell reaches a target charge level. However, due to inherent differences between battery cells, not all battery cells have the same capacity. Consequently, some battery cells in a pack may charge faster or slower than other battery cells in the pack. To ensure that all of the cells in a pack stabilize at the target charge level, cell balancing may be employed during the charging process. Conventional cell balancing is rather time consuming because it is implemented using very low currents near the end of the charge process. Therefore, it is desirable to improve upon conventional cell balancing techniques.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.